Friday, December 2, 2016

Assignment for Tuesday, 12-06-16

Dear Mythologists,

For Tuesday, December 6, we're going to take a chronological step backward and consider a film that deals with events from before the Trojan War. Please do the following:

(1) Watch Iphigenia (Michael Cacoyannis, 1977), taking notes as you see
fit. The DVD is reserved at the library, BUT the film is NOT streaming on Amazon, Hulu or Netflix. It is available on YouTube in versions of varying quality. Make sure you get a version with English subtitles (it's a modern Greek-language film, like A Dream of Passion).

Being an adaptation of Euripides' Iphigenia at Aulis, this film shares many of the same concerns as adaptations of the Medea. The movie overall is a feel-bad experience in the best possible way, cathartic in a most Aristotelian sense.

(2) Read Marianne McDonald's essay, "Eye of the Camera, Eye of the Victim," which offers a cogent analysis of the film in light of Euripides' play, as well as a personal response to Iphigenia's tragedy. Note: Her essay comes from Classical Myth and Culture in the Cinema (Oxford, 2001), one of the first major volumes combining Classical Studies and film studies, edited by Martin M. Winkler (who would go on to edit volumes on Gladiator and Troy).

(3) Remember by noon on Tuesday to comment on this post with your choice of a sequence from Iphigenia to view in class.

13 comments:

I'd like to watch the dramatic final scene of the film, which goes from 1:54:58-2:02:14. It's clearly what the entire film has been building up to, so I'd think it would be a little remiss not to watch it. Aside from that, I think the craft of the scene is rather interesting. Once Iphigenia leaves her mother's grasp, there is very little dialogue, so the film maker's resort to other tactics to make sure the suspense of the situation doesn't simply fizzle away. The music is a key part of this, resounding loudly at first but turning silent the end of the scene so we can hear the harsh wind. Another are the shots, which use multiple angles to show Iphigenia's slow ascent. There's even some slight shaky cam to demonstrate unease. Overall, it's an effective scene.

I would also like to examine this scene. Cacoyannis leaves Iphigenia's ultimate fate ambiguous. Is Agamemnon's aghast facial expression while looking at the altar because he can't believe what he has sacrificed his daughter, or because her body has disappeared, stolen by Artemis? Cacoyannis never gives any sign of the gods' presence or power beyond those subjective things which an ancient person would see as an omen but would be written off by a modern person: the stag was unlawfully killed and now there is no wind, must be Artemis! So, even though the characters express belief in the gods, the post-Enlightenment audience is in a more skeptical position than the ancient one.

I would like to examine the Mother Daughter goodbye scene starting about 1:54 in. What I really want to look at is it's wedding like elements, a veil/train, a procession, the role of the parents. I think it is a good place for us to look if we want to understand what this film wants us to think of Iphigenia. when we see her face her final fate, the way the film depicts it is to link it to a major milestone in a young persons life.

I would like to the scene of the oracle (00:15:00-00:18:50). Agamemnon is asked to sacrifice Iphigenia's life so that the Greek fleet could successfully sail to Troy to save Helen. I do believe that through this action, Agamemnon's objective was to further his name through "heroic" traits, like selflessness in sacrificing his daughter and valor in saving Helen. What is inconsistent and ironic about this is that it was Agamemnon's conceit that enabled him to get tangled in this predicament in the first place. What this boils down to is whether Agamemnon committed this act for the sake of his starving army or for the benefit of his reputation. In any case, this scene speaks to the heart of the viewer.

I would also like to watch this scene. I also think that it is interesting to consider Agamemnon's different motivations and the way the gods influence his actions. I think it was interesting to see the different reactions upon learning that a sacrifice can calm the winds and learning that the sacrifice must be Agamemnon's daughter.

I'd like to see this too! Agamemnon is at first prepared to do anything to appease the gods, until he realizes he must sacrifice his daughter. The acting in this scene is the epitome of high drama and forces viewers to pay attention to the conflict inside Agamemnon

I find the scene from 00:50:46-00:53:26 interesting for a couple of reasons. First, we see another side of Agamemnon. This is not the normal, power-hungry king we've seen in the previous movies, but a heartbroken father. It's a successful portrayal of the conflict Agamemnon feels in the situation and it does, to some extent, make him less monstrous. Another reason this scene stuck out to me is the obvious emphasis Cacoyannis that places upon the eyes, which was a major argument in McDonald article. The sequence consists of close-up shots. As McDonald writes, we are able to distinguish the perspective of each character when we look at their eyes.

I would also like to watch this scene as well as a few minutes before to see the dialogue between Menelaus and Agamemnon. I thought this was an interesting conversation because Menelaus shows sympathy for Agamemnon right after telling him he had to kill his daughter.

i would also like to view this sequence as it adds a level of humanity to agamemnon. its so easy to demonize him the writers chose to give him an element of empathy for the audience so he was not so easily demonized.

I enjoyed the scene at 1:46:54, when Iphigenia asks "why me?" I think this scene is interesting for two reasons. First of all, I think that the whole atmosphere created by the filmmakers and actors is really moving and definitely one of the more poignant scenes from the film. Second, I think that this shows a lot of maturity on Iphigenia's part, and is really interesting when trying to understand her character.

I'd like to see the scene of the hunting of Artemis' deer from 0:06:00-0:09:00. It is interesting how little context is given but to anyone that knows the myth it makes sense. It is also interesting how a seemingly innocuous hunt at first has such dark ramifications.

I would like to watch the end when Iphigenia accepts her fate at 1:45:27. I think that it's an interesting moment when she immediately changes her mind about the sacrifice. I think it's a very powerful moment when the child is stronger than her parents by looking at the situation from a logical point of view instead of an emotional one. I was especially shocked when one of her last requests to her mother were to not hate her father. Especially because we know what will happen to him in the future.